Australia 3 for 1 trail South Africa 425 for 9 dec (Bavuma 179, Jansen 85, Harmer 82, Boland 5-81, Starc 3-89) by 422 runs
Temba Bavuma produced his finest Test innings, a first century against Australia, a fifth overall and a new career-best, to lift South Africa from a position where their chances in the series could have vanished into one where they could still push for a series-levelling victory.
Bavuma crafted a masterful 179 off 334, which was the highest score by a South Africa captain against Australia. He added 132 with a counterattacking Marco Jansen and a South Africa eighth-wicket record 183 with Simon Harmer to lift them from 110 for 6 to 429 for 9 when Bavuma declared at the fall of his own wicket with just over 20 minutes of play remaining on day three.
To cap off the fightback, Kagiso Rabada removed Nic Maddinson in the opening over for a four-ball duck, his second one in three innings for the series, when he edged a drive to third slip. Travis Head and nightwatcher Scott Boland negotiated three overs against spin in fading light
From a position from where they were the dominant side, it became a day of toil for Australia's attack, who conceded a century to an opposition captain for the first time since Ben Stokes at Lord's in the 2023 Ashes. There is now virtually no path to victory for them in this match with two days remaining.
Full report to follow